


A Penny for Your Thoughts?

by damerey_knows



Series: DamereyCreations Week 2020 [2]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Soulmarks, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:28:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27308455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damerey_knows/pseuds/damerey_knows
Summary: When Rey sees Poe for the first time she can't help what her first thoughts were, even though she knows how important they can be.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey
Series: DamereyCreations Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985050
Comments: 25
Kudos: 68
Collections: Damerey Discord Shenanigans





	A Penny for Your Thoughts?

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I know I promised more submissions, but I was so busy this week coordinating and work that I didn't get the chance to finish up the stuff I wanted to post for days 3,5,6 so i will hopefully be posting them later next month.... hopefully
> 
> anyways, soulmates are my favorite au so i thought i would make them ridiculous :)  
> Enjoy

Rey darted through the crowded street. Why did Finn say he wanted to go to a bar next to the stadium? she cursed in her head as she dodged around a group of drunken men who were attempting to dance on the hood of a parked car. Heathens. The game hasn’t even started yet.

Finally making it to Maz’s Bar, Rey looked around and saw Finn sitting at the bar next to a man with dark curly hair. Rey dodged between patrons of the crowded room as she made her way to where Finn sat with a friend. _Damn, he’s got a juicy ass,_ she thought, catching sight of the unknown man’s behind in dark jeans that fit him sinfully well. It had been awhile since Rey had broken things off with her last boyfriend, sue her for looking at a hot guy.

She finally managed to make it around a group of frat boys, studiously ignoring the one who had already stood to try talking to her.

“Finn!” she called out as she approached. “Why the hell did you want to come out here tonight? You know I hate Wrigleyville!” She didn’t even bother trying to mask her annoyance at him.

“Peanut!” Finn shouted back, waving frantically, as if she couldn’t see him. “Pull up a seat!”

Finn jumped down off his stool and offered it to her. Rey was grateful for the offer. Coming straight from work meant that she hadn’t had time to change out of her work clothes, specifically the brand new flats she’d bought that turned out to be the stiffest, most uncomfortable item of clothing she had ever worn, including the five inch heels she’d once worn to a wedding that had given her blisters.

Dumping her bag onto the ground in front of her seat, Rey hopped up before turning to Finn and his friend and choked on her tongue.

“Peanut, this is Poe Dameron,” Finn said with a flourish. “Poe this is Rey.”

The man with the juicy ass had one of the best looking faces she’d ever seen. He was tanned, with dark curly hair falling in his brown eyes, and a crooked smile. He was also holding his hand up to her.

Rey’s eyes stared down at it for a moment before she remembered that she was supposed to take it. “Nice to meet you,” Poe said.

Rey could feel a blush rising on her cheeks as she shook his hand. “Likewise.”

“Oh, hey,” Finn said in a tightly controlled voice. “I didn’t know that Rose was gonna be here.”

Rey looked at Finn for a long second before turning to raise her eyebrows at Poe. She couldn’t help feeling a little more at ease with him, even with the thousand butterflies ricocheting around in her stomach.

Poe was clearly fighting a grin as he slapped Finn’s shoulder. “You should go talk to her buddy.”

“No,” Finn said, turning back to the bar. “No, I can’t, she’s with her friends.”

Finn had been moony-eyed over Rose for about a year at this point, and Rey had just about had enough. “If you don’t walk over there and talk to her, I will and I will tell her what your first thoughts were when you saw her.”

Finn’s cheeks flushed three shades. A person’s first thoughts were usually what appeared when people get their soulmarks at eighteen. “You wouldn’t!”

Rey raised an eyebrow at him, not breaking eye contact for a full twenty seconds before shrugging and jumping down off the barstool.

“No!” Finn yelped, grabbing her arm and yanking her back. “Fine, I’ll talk to her.”

“Atta boy!” she said.

Finn gave Poe a last look, as if asking for help, before turning and walking over to Rose’s table at the back.

Rey smiled after him.

“About time he made a move,” Poe said, smiling into his glass. “I’ve been listening to him wax on and on about her for six months now.”

“Six months, huh?” she asked, wryly. “Try being there the night he met her.”

Poe groaned. “Oh, I don’t envy you there.” He raised his glass to her. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Uh, just-just a lemonade is fine,” Rey stammered. With the weird way she was feeling right now she didn’t think throwing alcohol into the mix would do anything other than make her even more of a mess.

Poe smiled and flagged down the bar tender.

* * *

Rey smiled, waving at Poe as she made her way through the crowded theater to where he and Finn stood.

It had been Rey’s idea to go see _Avengers: Endgame_ in theaters. Finn had been the one to invite Poe and Rose. Rey was happy for him and Rose, they seemed to be hitting it off well. But inviting Poe….

It wasn’t that Rey was opposed to him coming with them, but the feeling she got in her stomach every time he looked at her made her want to hide, or kiss him, or kiss him then hide. Rey wasn’t sure where these feelings came from. She rubbed at the spot on her right bicep where her soulmark was. No, there was no way Poe was the one who had thought those words when he’d first seen her. Nor was it possible that her first thoughts were tattooed on him somewhere. That didn’t stop the damn butterflies from rocketing around in her stomach.

“Hi,” she said, grinning as she squeezed her way between two college girls and finally made it to them.

“Hey,” Finn said absently, bouncing on his toes and using Poe as leverage to try to see over the crowd.

“Dude!” Poe protested, rolling his eyes as he shoved Finn’s hand off of his head. “She’ll get here when she gets here.”

Rey tried to hide her laughter. “I see you’re having fun.”

“Oh yeah,” Poe said, sarcasm dripping off of his every atom. “So much fun.”

“There she is!” Finn shouted, his hand raising to wave frantically at Rose.

“Hi, guys,” Rose said when she was close enough. “It’s so good to see you all.” She gave each of them a hug before turning and grinning at each of them. “So, where are we sitting?”

Finn held out the tickets he’d already bought. “This theater doesn’t really do assigned seating, so we’d better get inside before it fills up completely.”

Poe’s eyes met Rey’s and he raised a skeptical eyebrow. Judging by the state of the hallway, they’d be lucky to get two seats in a row together let alone four.

Rey was right. The theater was packed. Luckily, there were two seats together a few rows in and then another two seats together along the back row in the middle.

Finn was glaring at Poe as Rose surveyed the scene. Rey could clearly read the amused look on Poe’s face as he shrugged and let Finn and Rose take the seats closer to the front.

“You don’t mind sitting next to me, do you?”

“And miss out on a night of listening to Finn gripe and pine? Oh, how will I ever console myself,” she sighed dramatically before breaking into giggles.

Poe smiled widely at her. “After you then.” He led the way up to their row.

Before they began moving along the row of people, Rey touched his elbow before tugging her coat and holding it out to him. “Save my seat?” she asked. “I’m going to make a quick popcorn run, want anything?”

“Uh,” Poe said as he took the jacket from her. “Surprise me.”

“Alright then,” Rey grinned as she made her way back down the stairs and out of the theater.

Rey made it through the line quicker than she thought she would, apparently the staggered start times of the movie helped a bit, and soon she was making her way along the row to her seat.

“Planning on eating your weight in popcorn I see,” Poe said when she handed the bucket to him.

Rey rolled her eyes. Yes, the bucket was probably as big as her torso, but she was planning on sharing. Really, she was. “Hey, when I go to the movies, I do it right.” She took a quick sip of her coke before setting it down and pulling two bottles from her purse. “Chocolate or White Cheddar?” she asked offering the popcorn seasonings she’d brought from home to Poe.

Poe got a weird look on his face for a moment before pointing at one bottle. “Uh, let’s do cheddar.”

“Alright then.” Rey opened the bottle and poured a generous helping over the popcorn, shaking it to let it sift to the bottom before taking a handful and shoving it into her face.

“So, what do I need to know to get caught up on this movie?” Poe said, smiling as he reached over to grab some popcorn.

Rey gawked at him. Was he really asking her to summarize the entire MCU in the three minutes they had left of commercials before _Endgame_ started? “You’re kidding, right?”

Poe shrugged. “It’s been a minute since I’ve watched a Marvel movie. Catch me up?”

Rey looked away from him for a minute, sighing internally, before explaining to him what was probably necessary for this movie. It took place before most of the rest of the MCU so she just gave him a very basic overview of what was probably going to happen.

“We’re definitely doing a marathon after this,” Rey muttered to him as the lights dimmed. “I can’t believe you haven’t watched _Black Panther_ or _Captain Marvel_!”

“Name a time and a place, Sunshine,” Poe said quietly in her ear as he reached for a fistful of popcorn, sending a shiver down her spine.

* * *

Rey smiled as she pulled out the box of popcorn packets. Movie nights with Poe, Finn and Rose had become a regular thing now. When Rey had realized that Poe didn’t know who Betty Ross was, her plans shifted. They were now doing a full re-watch of the entire MCU in chronological order. This week was Rey’s turn, and they were on _Thor_.

Rey was starting to realize that her little crush on Poe was not just a fleeting thing. She liked when he came over. He was witty and didn’t let her get away with her usual shit. He could hold his own in an argument and he was able to make her giggle at the stupidest things. The more they hung out the more flustered Rey got.

They had started texting shortly after going to see _Endgame_ and it just evolved from there. Rey would send Poe memes she’d found while bored at her desk, Poe would send her random videos of the projects he was working on. Every time they did movie night with Finn and Rose, who were starting to really hit it off, they would end up arguing over all kinds of random non-issues. It had gotten to the point that Finn had started teasing her about it constantly.

She didn’t have a crush on Poe. She didn’t. Rey rubbed at her bicep, over the spot where her own soulmark was. She had a soulmate out there somewhere. Some people waited decades to find their soulmates. It was stupid to think that she had already found hers.

Just as Rey buzzed Poe into her apartment her phone chimed with a text.

**Finn: sorry peanut, Rose and I are going on a real date!**

Rey’s eyebrows rose as she reread the text. “Finally,” she muttered as she went to answer Poe’s knock at the door.

“Hi,” he said, smiling that one smile that always made her knees a little wobbly.

“Hey,” Rey said, moving aside so he could come into the apartment. “So Finn bailed.”

“Really?” Poe asked as he set down the pizzas he’d brought on her dining table before taking off his shoes.

“Yep.” Rey looked down at her phone to give herself something to do. “Apparently he and Rose are on a quote ‘Real Date’ tonight,” she said, drawing air quotes around ‘Real Date’.

Poe’s smile never wavered. “So, it’s just the two of us tonight. Think we can finish both of these pizzas on our own?”

Rey laughed. “Is that a challenge, Dameron?”

Poe shrugged. “I would hate to leave you with all this veggie pizza leftover.”

Rey shook her head and walked back into the kitchen to finish making the popcorn.

“So, what flavor we trying tonight?” Poe asked, leaning against the counter. Ever since they started movie nights Poe had gotten curious about what other popcorn flavors were out there. They had tried a new one each night. So far, they had tried Ranch, Butter, Cheesy Jalapeno, Garlic Parmesan, and Buffalo Wing from one line of seasonings.

“I thought we would try the Nacho Cheddar,” Rey said, grabbing the bottle from the counter next to her and tossing it to him.

* * *

Three weeks later, Rey was knocking on Poe’s door, pizza in hand. The heating in Rey’s building had gone out, so she’d decided that it was his turn to host. Finn and Rose had almost entirely disappeared from movie nights. They all saw each other sporadically throughout the week, but, since Fridays were the only night both Rey and Poe were reliably available, they kept it going, just the two of them.

They were up to _Iron Man 3_ now and Rey was looking forward to it. Or maybe she was looking forward to hanging out with Poe more.

Rey shook her head to clear it. Poe was a friend. Just a friend.

She reached forward and knocked on his door.

There was the sound of barking from inside the house, then a loud crash, then Rey could hear scrabbling at the door and Poe yelling at someone.

“Hello?” she called loudly through the still closed door.

“Hang on just a second!” Poe called back.

Suddenly the door opened, and Rey peered in to see Poe gripping the collar of a Golden Retriever while holding the dog between his legs. “Hey,” he said with a wide smile. “C’mon in.”

Rey quickly stepped through the door and let Poe close it behind her.

“Sorry about her. I can take that—” “RUFFF” “—from you.” Poe reached his free hand out to take the pizza.

Rey smiled, handing it over as she slipped off her flats. “What’s her name?”

“Either Beatrice or the Energizer Bunny, take your pick,” Poe said, laughingly.

Rey knelt down to offer her hand to the dog.

“Ready?” Poe asked.

Rey nodded, and was immediately knocked onto her butt as the mass of yellow fur and wet tongue leapt on her.

“Bea!” Poe scolded but Rey was laughing.

“I’m fine, Poe,” Rey called out to him.

Poe shook his head and walked down the hall, then came back sans pizza. “Bee-bee, outside?” he asked. The dog’s head shot up, her tongue lolling out as she looked between Poe and Rey. “Rey will still be here when you get back,” Poe laughed.

Bea got off of Rey and started snuffling at Poe. “Get off me, you goof,” he muttered, sidestepping the dog and offering a hand to help Rey up.

Poe let Bea out into his backyard as Rey moved to his couch.

“So,” Poe said as he brought two plates, a bowl of popcorn, and two bottles of seasoning to the couch. “What flavor we trying tonight?”

Rey looked at the bottles of popcorn seasoning he was offering her. “Cheese and Caramel?” she asked skeptically.

Poe shrugged. “Apparently mixing cheese popcorn and caramel popcorn is a Chicago thing, but I thought they mixed those two after seasoning it.”

Rey laughed. “I guess we’ll see if it’s worth it.” She could feel her cheeks ache from the smile she was wearing.

* * *

Rey didn't remember the end of the movie, she just remembered Tony talking to a little boy and then suddenly she was waking up, her head in Poe's lap and a blanket thrown over her body. The credits were rolling quietly in the background and Rey could feel Poe’s hand on her shoulder as Bea snuffled in her sleep on the floor in front of the couch.

Carefully, Rey rolled over and looked up at Poe, wanting to apologize for falling asleep on him.

Poe was watching the credits, diligently waiting for the after credits scene. He glanced down at her when she moved. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Rey said sleepily, smiling up at him. "Sorry for sleeping on you," she mumbled.

"It's alright," Poe said with a smile, his hand brushing back some of the hair from her face. "Long day?"

Rey shrugged as she sat up. "Eh, same as usual, just annoying is all."

Poe's hand fell to the side as she moved, and Rey felt dismayed at the loss even as she stretched out her shoulder muscles. Her eyes fell on something in the corner of the living room. "Do you play?" she asked pointing at the guitar leaning against a stand just to the left of the TV.

"Uh, yeah," Poe mumbled, his hand going up to rub at his neck. Rey could see his cheeks darkening slightly under his scruff. "Just a little."

"C’mon Poe, you can't keep a girl in suspense like that. Show me?" Rey put her hands together under her chin and tried to give him her best puppy dog eyes.

Poe held her gaze for three heartbeats before sighing. "Fine,"he said. "One Song." 

He stood up and walked to the get the guitar, grabbing a pick as he walked back to the couch and sat back down. "What should I play?" he asked.

"Rey shrugged. "Surprise me."

"You wanted me to—" Poe cut himself off with an eye roll, shaking his head as he started strumming the guitar. “Alright, fine.

"You held me down, but I got up ..."

Rey broke out into giggles, as she recognized the song, but she bit her bottom lip as Poe continued to play.

"That was really nice," Rey said smiling at him as he finished the song. “You’re really good.”

"What about you?” he asked grinning back at her. "Do you sing?"

"Oh, not— no- not really," Rey fumbled a little as she looked down at her lap.

"C'mon, I won't judge, Sweetheart," Poe said nudging her knee with his.

"Alright fine, twist my arm." Rey thought about it for a moment before waving her finger under his nose. "But you have to sing with me."

"Alright."

Rey hummed a little to herself, snapping her fingers to get the beat down. "I really can’t stay," she started

Poe grinned as he recognized the song, turning his guitar face down on his lap to drum along with the beat. "But baby it's cold outside."

"I've got to go away." Rey swayed as she sung, the smile on her face unwavering as Poe stared into her eyes.

"But baby it's cold outside."

Rey couldn’t help thinking that this song was applicable to this evening. Him asking her to stay the night, her not really wanting to go. “This evening has been.”

“Been hoping that you’ll drop in.” Was she imagining the way Poe’s eyes dropped down to her lips?

“So very nice.”

“I’ll hold your hand, they’re just like ice.”

Rey erupted into giggles as Poe reached for her hands, pretending to warm them. Poe shook his head, his laughter joining hers as they fell back onto the couch.

“Bwoof,” Bea barked as she jumped up onto the couch, not keen on missing out on the fun.

Rey’s laughter got stronger as she tried to fend off Bea’s kisses. “Not the mouth!” she yelped as Poe finally got his arm around Bea’s middle and pulled her back.

* * *

Rey smiled at Poe as she watched him reach above his fridge a few weeks later. She still would never admit it to him or anyone, but she liked to look at his backside. She was only human, and he had a very nice backside, sue her.

“C’mon Rey,” Poe was saying as he looked for his popcorn maker. “I don’t care what you say, Jane is the best character, and Dark World did her dirty.”

“Excuse me,” Rey said, offended on behalf of her favorite filter-less grad student. “Darcy is right there!” She took a sip of her lemonade, eyes still fastened on Poe’s back. “But yes, Jane deserved be—.” She almost choked when the edge of Poe’s shirt rode up, exposing the skin of his back just a little. Rey could see, just poking out of the edge of his pants, the words “ _Damn, he’s got a juicy ass”_ written in her handwriting on his hip.

“There it is,” Poe muttered, finally pulling the machine down from the shelf. “Rey, Sunshine, you’re one of my favorite people, but Jane is objectively the best character in the— Rey?” Poe pulled up short, finally noticing the look on Rey’s face. “Is everything okay?”

Rey was frozen, openly staring at Poe’s stomach now, her heart pounding as if it wanted to jump out of her chest.

“Rey?” Poe walked up to her and took her hand in his. “Are you okay?”

Rey blinked, his touch breaking through her shock. “Sorry, I—” she pulled her hand away, reaching up unconsciously to cover her own soulmark on her bicep. 

Poe’s eyes were soft as he studied her face with concern. “Did I do something? I swear I was just joking about Darcy.”

Rey shook her head. “No, it’s nothing. I just—” She took a deep breath. “Never mind.”

Poe did not look convinced. “You know you don’t have to keep things from me. I’m not going to be weird or judge you or anything.”

“I know,” Rey said with a small smile.

“Well,” Poe qualified, his face cracking in a wide grin as he moved to fill the popcorn machine. “I may judge you a little if you are trying to tell me that that ‘Dill Pickle’ popcorn seasoning you made me try is the best one.”

Rey jumped up from her stool at the counter. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“It was disgusting, and you know it, Sunshine.”

Rey pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. Okay, it definitely wasn’t the best flavor they had tried.

Throughout the rest of the movie, Rey was quiet. She was too lost in thought to really keep up her usual running commentary. she would answer the questions Poe had but otherwise kept fairly silent.

She left that evening still feeling out of sorts and confused. Poe walked her too the door and offered her a ride home.

"You sure you’re feeling alright, Sunshine?” Poe asked as she slipped her shoes on. "I can drive you home. Or you can stay here tonight, and I'll take the couch."

Rey smiled up at him. "I'm fine, Poe, really. Just something on my mind."

Poe did not look placated. Bea was snuffling at Rey's feet as she slipped her coat on. "I'll see you later?" she asked Poe as she opened the door.

"Yeah, I'll see you later. Text me when you get home?"

"Will do."

Rey took the quickest route home, just wanting to get into her pajamas and wallow in her thoughts for the rest of the month. If her first thoughts were tattooed on Poe, then that meant he was her soulmate, he was her person.

 _But what if it's not his words on you_ , a voice in the back of her head asked.

But Rey knew Poe now. She knew he would definitely be the one to think of something wild and out of the norm when he first saw her. The man had no filter. But the idea that they were soulmates... Rey didn't know how to really process that possibility.

She ended up falling asleep on the couch, her mug of tea sitting on the table in front of her.

* * *

Rey stayed home from work for the rest of the week, working from her laptop mostly but otherwise just running through the events of movie night over and over again in her mind. When Friday came again, Rey decided that she was just going to sleep and not go to movie night. She had been avoiding Poe's messages since she had sent him the text that she'd gotten home alright, but now she reached for her phone and sent him a quick. **Not feeling too good today, rain check on movie night?**

Poe's response was quick. **SHE’S ALIVE! I was getting worried there. Want me to bring you anything?**

 **No, I'm good,** Rey sent back, rolling her eyes before throwing her phone into the couch beside her and turning back to the TV. When in existential doubt, Rey liked to watch _Avatar_. She'd been so happy when they had put it back on Netflix.

Rey was about five episodes deep when she heard her intercom buzzing.

Confused, she paused the TV and stood to get it.

"Hello?" she asked into the receiver.

"Hey, Sunshine, open up, it's Poe."

Rey looked around her apartment, in a panic. What was Poe doing here? He couldn't be here now. Rey saw the empty takeout containers on the table the blankets strewn around the living room, and she was wearing a tank top and sleeping shorts.

"Uhh, I told you I was sick, Poe." Rey muttered weakly into the intercom.

"I know that’s why I bought you some food.”

Rey took a deep breath and pressed the buzzer to let him up.

Quickly, she grabbed a cardigan and threw it on over her tank top just as he knocked on the door. She wasn't sure if she was ready to have the soulmate talk with him or not but at least this way her mark was covered up for the time being.

Poe walked into her apartment with a wide grin firmly planted on his face, but Rey could see a strained emotion behind his eyes. "How've you been feeling, Rey?" he asked.

Rey shrugged. "M'alright." she said, twisting the sleeves of her cardigan around her fingers.

Poe took a quick look around. “You don't look that sick. What's wrong?"

“Just a headache," Rey mumbled not quite meeting his eyes. Rey could see the large pot in Poe's hands, as he moved to the kitchen to set it down. "I made you some turkey soup with white beans. My mom used to make it for me whenever I got sick."

Rey smiled as she watched him bustle about her kitchen.

"If you're not feeling good you should go lie down." Poe came to stand in front of her, his hand already reaching for her face. Rey felt a shiver slide down her spine as his warm hands came to hold her face, one on her cheek the other resting against her forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever."

"Poe, you don't have to fuss over me, I'm a big girl I can handle a cold."

"I know you can, Sunshine," Poe said his eyes crinkling in a real smile for the first time. "But that doesn't mean you need to do everything on your own, especially if you're sick."

Rey smiled back at him weakly. Her free hand coming up to rub at her soulmark. It would be so easy to just ask him to clear the air. But Rey had never been one to deal with emotions head on... especially not with someone she cared about as much as she cared about Poe.

Rey smiled, wrapping her arms around Poe's middle and leaning her head against his chest. "Thank you," she whispered.

Poe froze for a millisecond before his arms wound around her as well. "Happy to do it sunshine," he whispered into her hair, before releasing her. "Now," he said, businesslike all of a sudden. "You go sit down on the couch and get comfortable, I'm just gonna warm this up and bring you some."

Rey shook her head, smiling as she went back to the couch, waiting for Poe to come with her soup. It took a few minutes, so Rey started the show again.

"Not watching without me, are you?" Poe asked as he walked into the room and set two bowls of soup down on the coffee table.

Rey smiled. "Nope, this isn't Marvel. Don’t worry, I'm not watching ahead of you, even though I've already seen it all," she teased, bringing her hand up to poke him in the side.

"Good, cuz I'd hate to miss out on the world’s greatest soldier. " Poe said with a laugh.

"Hey, don't insult the captain, he’s shaped like Doritos," Rey said in mock outrage, brandishing her spoon at him.

Rey turned back to the show and watched as Sokka and Aang tried to prove to Katara and Toph that they could be sophisticated enough for the Earth king's party. She dug into her soup with fervor, it was really good, the meat and spices balanced perfectly, sending warmth through Rey.

"So, you want to tell me what's wrong?" Poe asked quietly after as the credits to the episode were beginning to play and Netflix was asking to queue up the next one.

"What?" Rey asked, her free hand coming up to cover her shoulder, reflexively.

"You've been distant all week. Not responding to my messages, ordering in.” He gestured to the kitchen, where he had presumably seen all the take-out containers. "And you blew off movie night, after being weird last time." Poe sighed. "I just I can’t help but think that I did something wrong." Poe’s last words were quieter than she was used to. Poe was supposed to be louder than life, his personality filling a room. Yet here he was, pleading with her for something he didn’t know, for something that wasn't his fault.

Rey took a deep breath and dragged her gaze up to look at his face. She could see the hurt in his eyes. He deserved an answer, even if it meant that she would loose him. She would hurt him worse by ghosting him like she had been doing lately.

Rey twisted her hands in her lap, pulling the blanket tighter around her. "It's not your fault, Poe, I told you I just had a lot on my mind that night."

Poe's face remained unchanged. "Rey something happened, and I've been running that night over and over again in my head and I can’t figure out. You were talking to me we were joking about something in a movie, and then you just got quiet and I could barely get two words out of you the rest of the night.” He took a deep breath. "Please just tell me what happened? I don't want us to be strangers like this. I don’t-I don’t think I could handle it.”

Rey nodded. "I— um— I saw your soulmark." She whispered the last word so quickly and softly she doubted he could hear her.

"You saw my w—" A look of understanding came over Poe's face. "Rey, you know that doesn’t mean I don’t care for you. I still—"

Rey interrupted him. "I know it doesn't mean you would just dump me whenever you found your partner. I never thought you would. I know that we never really talked about it, soulmarks and whatnot, but it just shocked me that— well first of all that you had one and secondly that those words were—" Rey swallowed her tongue. He deserved the truth, but she was still mortified that that had been the thing, that was now immortalized on his body. Her objectification of him.

"Those words what, Rey?"

Rey buried her face in her sweater covered hands. "Those were my thoughts," she mumbled into her hands.

"What?" Poe asked, his hands coming up to cover one of her wrists.

Rey kept her face hidden, unwilling and unable to meet his eyes. "Those were the thoughts that I had when I first met you at the bar with Finn.

"I was embarrassed and I just I can't believe I did that to you, and—" Rey was cut off by Poe's laughter.

"What!" she yelped indignantly finally pulling herself together enough to look at him with reproach.

Poe was leaning back against the couch, laughing his head off.

Rey was not amused. “Well, fine if that’s how you’re gonna be.” She stood up from the couch throwing the blankets onto the floor as she walked away from the couch.

“Wait!” Poe yelped, his hand flying out to grab her wrist. In his panic, he overestimated how much force he would need, and Rey was suddenly flying backwards landing on his lap with a soft thud.

“Poe, what are you—”

“I’m sorry.” Poe’s hands were cradling her cheeks again, turning her to face him. “I’m not mad, I swear I’m not. And I’m not making fun of you or anything, sweetheart.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” she grumbled.

Poe chuckled quietly. “I'm just laughing because it's been a long time since I got those words and I'm use to them. I never thought that they were weird or bad. ‘Unique’ is the word my dad would tell me when they appeared." Poe shook his head, his hands falling from Rey's face to rest around her waist. "He kept saying that would make it easier to find the person who thought them. I’m just laughing because I never thought that it could be possible that you were the one who thought those words. I had hoped that you might be, God knows my brain wasn’t the most eloquent when you came up to me at the bar that day, but I never hated that mark. In fact, I actually love it."

Rey was looking down at her hands, her blush creeping up her neck and staining her cheeks.

"What if, what if I’m not the one who has your thoughts?" she whispered, that little voice at the back of her head making itself known again. "What if you are my soulmate but I'm not yours?"

"Sweetheart," Poe said softly pulling her face up to meet his gaze.

Rey stared into his dark brown eyes, feeling the world around her narrowing down to the man on her couch.

"I know that you are the best person I could ever meet. You are my favorite person, you are my best friend. You are the one I've wanted to talk to for so long this week, I'm not giving that up just because you may or may not have something tattooed on you about how I want you to punch me."

Rey's heart stopped. "What did you say?"

Poe looked confused. "That you're my favorite person?"

"No, no," Rey interjected. "The other bit; about your first thought?"

Poe reddened slightly. "Well," he began. “When you showed up at the bar, it was like you didn’t want to be there. Like you were ready to take on the world and weren’t gonna let anything stand in your way, even though I could tell you didn't want to be there," Poe shrugged. "I guess I couldn’t help but thinking that you looked powerful, more powerful than any other woman I had ever met, more beautiful than any other, too. My first thought was something about letting you punch me or something."

Rey bit down on her bottom lip hard. Keeping her eyes fixed on Poe's expression, Rey pulled down the right sleeve of her cardigan, revealing her bare shoulder, and the words “ _She could punch me in the face and I'd thank her_ ". "Is this what you thought?" Rey asked in a breath.

Poe stared at her shoulder. His hand came up to rest on her bicep, his thumb just barely grazing the edge of the mark. It started about midway down her arm and snaked its way up towards her collar bone in firm strong handwriting. Rey had never really seen Poe's handwriting before, she may have to have him write those words out for her sometime just to see.

"But they're mine,” Poe said in awe. "My thoughts."

"Yeah," Rey smiled down at him from her perch in his lap. Her arm felt tingly where his hand rested, and when his fingers touched the mark directly, she gasped as sparks of electricity shot down her arm and through her body, lighting up all of her nerves.

“You're my soulmate, Sunshine" Poe whispered.

"Looks like it.”

Poe's free hand came up to cup her cheek as his gaze broke away from the mark. "I’m gonna kiss you, if that's alright."

Rey breathed out a laugh as she nodded, her cheeks hurting from smiling so hard.

Gently, ever so gently, Poe pulled her into him, and his lips touched hers.

The apartment could have caught fire and Rey would never have noticed.

* * *

Rey woke up to the sound of buzzing by her face. She groaned as she rolled over and searched for her phone to turn off the alarm. Or she tried to anyways. A warm arm was around her stomach, holding her in place. Rey could feel the person's breath against the back of her neck as he snored softly. Then the events of the previous night came back to her. Poe was her soulmate!

“Sunshine,” Poe said in a raspy voice. “It’s Saturday, we sleep in on Saturdays.”

Rey shuddered as his arm tightened around her waist. “Sorry, just trying to turn off my alarm.”

Poe grumbled but released her just long enough to let her grab her phone from her bedside table. As soon as the buzzing stopped, she was dragged back into his chest with an “oompf”.

She could feel the scratch of Poe’s five o’clock shadow against the back of her neck as she held in a laugh.

“Why do you have an alarm for dawn on a Saturday,” Poe asked, his lips brushing against her skin.

Rey laughed. “It’s ten thirty, flyboy.”

“Morning people,” Poe grumbled. “I was having a nice dream.”

Rey rolled over in his arms. “Oh yeah? Was I in it?”

“Starring role, sweetheart.” Poe leaned in to press his lips to Rey’s. “I’m gonna have to take you out dancing sometime.”

“Dancing? Really?”

“Yup.” Poe was nuzzling into her neck and Rey’s thoughts weren’t at all coherent.

“’M not very good.”

Poe pulled away. “You don’t need to be,” he said a soft smile on his lips. “Just follow my lead.”

Before Poe could say anything else, Rey hooked her leg over his and rolled them over so she was straddling him. “I’m not really one to follow,” Rey said with a sly smile on her face as she leaned over him, her hair falling into his face as she pressed another kiss against his lips.

It was the perfect kind of morning. And Rey never wanted it to stop.

**Author's Note:**

> So what did you think?


End file.
